Brand strategy Archives - The Rubicon Agency

The Rubicon Agency In Brand strategy, Insights, Miscellaneous

The brand strategy continuum

We all know the proverb a rolling stone gathers no moss. Well, there’s a degree of transferability to brand strategy, especially within technology brands.

The rate of change within the industry is accelerating exponentially. New vendors continue to enter the market, innovations are quicker and easier to deploy, and new categories are constantly being created, mapped and ranked.

This begs the question, how are organisations able to create an effective brand strategy in a world of constantly evolving variables?

Change is the only constant

Let’s delve into the murky world of failed brands, one of the highest profile examples in recent times must be Blockbuster. If you are of a certain age, the Friday night trip to the nearest store was an event in its own right. At the time the brand was synonymous with the home video rental market, that was until market challenger Netflix came onto the scene. Before the days of streaming, Netflix offered a mail order service which removed the need for expensive stores, staffing overheads or the need to leave your house. The irony is that in 2000 Netflix co-founders offered to sell the brand to Blockbuster, which they ultimately declined. The rest is history.

Blockbuster clearly failed to evolve with the times, but sometimes a brand can be so entrenched in a particular space that trying to reinvent and reposition itself is incredibly difficult.

Evolve or fail

Moving back into the realms of tech, IBM faced a similar challenge. Their brand was synonymous with mainframe computers. As the market evolved and personal computing, and eventually cloud computing developed, IBM embraced change. Moving away from hardware, IBM focussed on software and services to keep pace with the industry. They are now a major player in AI and cloud. These changes weren’t an overnight decision, and industry perception needed to evolve significantly to be seen as a credible player in the software space.

Below are some of the considerations and strategic steps that need to be embraced when evolving a brand.

Benchmark industry perceptions: gather insights on how customers currently perceive your brand. Identify commonalities and areas that need improvement/change.
Redefine your brand identity: rearticulate your brand’s mission, vision and values. Ensure that these elements align with the new perception you want to create.
Change the narrative: develop a consistent (but progressive) brand message across all channels. Establish the evolved brand, your proposition and USPs to all parties.
Provide social proof: leverage testimonials and reviews to demonstrate the change in position. User-generated content can prove much more influential than corporate marketing.
Continuously innovate: stay relevant by adapting to market trends. Position your brand as an innovator and responsive to customer needs.
With over 25 years of B2B agency experience working within the tech sector we know what it takes to change market perception, refresh a brand and redefine your proposition.

If your brand strategy could use an update, then speak to The Rubicon Agency for a fresh perspective.

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The Rubicon Agency In Brand strategy, Our industry

Discover the five silver linings of new tech marketing outlook.

Let’s face it, 2020 didn’t go to plan for anyone. The technology sector is no exception and, like every other business sector, is having to anticipate and deal with the direct and indirect effects of ‘C-19’.

2020 has been a lesson in expecting the unexpected. As the uncertainty continues, the impact of dealing with a global pandemic has challenged business and market sectors in different ways – with some feeling more disruption and financial pain than others.

As a breed, marketers are perhaps more prepared to catch a curved ball when it’s thrown in their direction. As practitioners in the art of anticipating and meeting demand with changing market dynamics, marketers are ready to zig when circumstances zag.

Looking to the horizon, we see clouds growing in the shape of reduced marketing budgets and customer spending. But even in this general climate of uncertainty it is, believe it or not, possible to pick out some silver linings – that can turn challenges into opportunities.

Find out more, get your free copy of Silver Linings Playbook for Tech Marketers.

The Rubicon Agency In Brand strategy, Our industry, Video content

Video focus #3: What makes a good vision video?

How do you sell the advantages of a significant technology evolution or the disruption that can precede business transformation? When an internal audience is key to driving change, how do you create buy-in or behaviour change?

For tech marketers facing these challenges it’s unlikely that a PowerPoint presentation will be as effective, or create the same impact, as a vision video.

The production of a good vision video begins with audience establishment. Regardless of the subject, the common purpose has to be winning hearts and minds. That means being clear about who the audience is and why they should care about the vision you are about to present.

While the vision can unfold to be something that’s compelling and even exciting, you need a starting point that resonates on a personal level. Once you’ve created early interest, make it clear to the audience how the vision can translate into short, medium or long-term benefits and what it may mean to their customer journey. For an internal audience, tell them the steps they can take in order to become part of the team that makes it happen. Vision videos may be inspirational, motivational or aspirational but they should use a call to action to lead the audience to the next step.

Making a technology vision credible

The vision also needs to be credible and, in the audience’s mind, achievable. If possible, content could include achievements to date, validation from industry commentators and evidence of ‘ability to execute’. For an internal audience, the same can apply, and if there’s already buy-in and momentum from leaders or managers in the business then you may want to get them on camera too (although, exercise caution when choosing your evangelists or advocates- see Video focus #2: Why careful casting is critical).

With what seems like a much bigger canvas for the imagination, a vision video can seem more daunting than other formats. The key is to approach it like any other format and not let the reach of the production values exceed the grasp of the budget. With the right script, energy and brevity, it’s possible to make an impactful vision video without relying on original footage or Pixar quality animations.

On another production note, the soundtrack and voice-over deserve particular consideration. The vision video presents an opportunity to be less conventional. A bold vision, a unique differentiator or an aspirational proposition calls for a voice over with character, gravitas, or simply infectious exuberance. And if it’s energy or edginess you need, you don’t have to confine the soundtrack to an anodyne piece of library music.

Finally, vision videos tend to have a more extended internal approval process with executive level and brand management oversight. So, it makes sense to share and edit a detailed storyboard with screen direction notes, a full draft script and even voice-over and soundtrack samples in order to manage expectations and avoid potentially costly revisions or additions further down the production line.

The Rubicon Agency is an experienced advocate of video for technology marketing. We’ve categorised examples of our work into the seven most common formats, covering a range of subjects. What they share in common is the advantage of our tech sector expertise and market insight combined with our creative but pragmatic approach to production. Each of these videos has created measurable impact and return on marketing investment for our clients.

Watch a vision video from The Rubicon Agency Video Gallery now.

The Rubicon Agency In Brand strategy, Miscellaneous, Our industry, Programme planning, Proposition development

McMarketing in the tech sector

Does fast marketing simply create customer indigestion?

Like fast food, ‘fast marketing’ may appear to satisfy customers across the digital equivalent of a takeaway counter. But, with a limited menu and ingredients that may be lacking nutritional value, does it cater to the needs of marketers more than customers.

Fast marketing happens when marketers are institutionally influenced to choose quantity over quality, and convenience over content. When engagement assets, landing pages, outreach or conversations are simply quickfried with little culinary skill, the results can leave customers feeling hungry or, worse still, with a bad aftertaste.

Across client-side and agency environments, four aspects appear to have contributed to a rise in fast marketing:

Professionalisation of Marketing Operations – introducing rigid, process driven leadership into marketing planning.

DevOps, Pivot and Agile Marketing – encouraging a ‘test/fail/learn/adapt’ approach to most disciplines in marketing.

Marketing from a platform – new build, automation and monitoring tools enable non-marketers to have marketing involvement.

Agency left-braining – agency culture and expertise has been skewed in favour of exploring tech possibilities ahead of – and often in absence of – content and creative considerations.

In an ‘all you can eat’ digital marketing age it would be wrong to imagine that markets and customers are so hungry for content that they’ll consume anything. It’s far better to assume they have the time and discernment to look for something more satisfying. And if you can feed them content that forms a healthy diet, they’ll not only be happy to digest but also keen to come back for more.

Extending the analogy further, imagine catering to an extended decision making group (typical of the tech sector). The CIO wants an appetiser of tempting strategic advantages, a main course that has an aroma of innovation and finally, a selection of tasty testimonials. IT tend to prefer meat and potatoes with a gravy of integration and lifecycle benefits. And the CFO? He or she may want to spend longer comparing menu prices before making a final selection.

Four fast marketing fails that create customer indigestion

McMarketing in the tech sector - Mystery menu

Mystery menu – brand and product marketing fail to describe what’s on offer and why it should whet the customer’s appetite.

McMarketing in the tech sector - Cold Takeaway

Cold takeaway – call-to-action and sales enablement assets lack the intellectual rigour that may be baked into thought leadership, business case, use case, and other assets.

McMarketing in the tech sector - Bland flavours

Bland flavours – marketing serves up undifferentiated messaging that lacks any distinctive flavour.

McMarketing in the tech sector - Confusion cuisine

Confusion cuisine – paid, owned and earned content programmes provide a baffling buffet of themes, arguments and messages.

Fast marketing may be perpetuated by the speed and immediacy of a digital marketing age which continues to mature. Compare this to the introduction of fast food some six or seven decades ago and you realise it may take some time yet before we fully realise the downsides of convenience over quality. In the meantime, let’s not be too pious about the occasional equivalent of a takeaway content kebab or a McMessaging proposition but continue to strive for quality over convenience.

Fast Marketing fails:
– The all-you-can-eat buffet
– The cold take-away
– Bland ingredients

‘For a balanced diet of marketing – and one that’s trusted by leading tech brands such as Cisco, AT&T and Xerox – contact The Rubicon Agency.

The Rubicon Agency In Brand strategy, Disruptive technology, Market development, Programme planning, Thought leadership

Map, message and migrate – the path to disruption

It’s true that each of the ‘3 Degrees of Disruption’ will cause waves of discontent with traditional users, value chains and routes to market.

But ultimately, their ‘value creation’ needs to outweigh the ‘value erosion’. There’s a multiple of indices to this value – with wealth/prosperity, employment, competitiveness, innovation, sustainability and wellbeing at the more esoteric and philosophical level. For the more everyday marketer there’s market-share, customer sentiment, revenue streams and lifetime customer spend. The list across the two levels is extensive.

However, these two levels are not quite as disparate as they seem. For the disruption to fully succeed, the marketing function has to combine the attributes and qualities of both levels to vision, lobby, evangelise and trade their way to success. This is crucial as the key influencer group often includes commentators, media opinion formers, industry leaders and practitioners of the ‘current normal’ – as well as the ‘next normal’.

Take automated vehicles and transport as an interesting example. Whist there’s definitely a provocative user story there, it’s easy to ignore the impact on other stakeholders – town planners, insurance companies, driving schools, safety bodies, regulators/policy makers. For this disruption to be realised, it’s crucial that these stakeholders get on-board for the journey (excuse the pun!). If not, they will dissent, distract and deflect the evolution to death.

Marketing leaders need to articulate and quantify the two levels of value using an exciting and ever-expanding range of digital, social, experience and content tools. But, many marketers go into execution mode too quickly, without establishing robust stories and stakeholder visions at the outset. It’s essential that they’re developed in the early days – even though they can be recalibrated over time.

Let’s explore the pathway to Map, Message and Migrate to Disruption:

Map, Message and Migrate to Disruption infographic

It takes tech experience, marketing dexterity and a Jackanory-mindset to tackle the two levels. The pioneers of Disruptive Technology will typically demonstrate rapid change in terms of price/performance/choice relative to alternative approaches. Or they experience breakthroughs and improvements in capability that were previously unachievable. Dramatising this for the whole influencing and decision making group is arguably marketing’s most important task.

The Rubicon Agency In Brand strategy, Disruptive technology, Market development, Programme planning, Thought leadership

Disruptive tech – navigating the ‘3 Degrees of Disruption’

‘Disruptive Technology’ is a mere two words – but with the power to change all of our lives (business and consumer).

A daydream involving cloud computing, automated transportation, Internet of Things and mobile internet leaves you thinking wistfully about the innovation possibilities. This is just a snapshot of Disruptive Tech – but you still have outcomes and probabilities that will change how we live, work and play for decades to come.

However, not all Disruptors are created equal. There’s a relativity to their ‘trouble-making’ that can be captured broadly by the ‘3 Degrees of Disruption’. Each degree has a consequential effect on markets, technology and the broader society – with the most dramatic and impactful of innovations having a seismic effect on all three.

Let’s explore the ‘3 Degrees of Disruption’ in more detail.

Each of the 3 Degrees of Disruption fuels rapid innovation in products, services, business processes and go-to-market strategies. Consequently, each degree needs a different approach to addressing marketing challenges – with a unique mix of activities and programmes to meet the idiosyncrasies’, embedded agendas and opportunity creation of the marketplace and value chain.

It can be a complex exercise understanding how much disruption and innovation to let loose on a workforce, distributor/reseller network and partner community. It needs a client/agency relationship that understands the new dawn of disruption – but understands the value and legacy of ‘that’s how it’s always been done’. It’s a relationship that requires a number of marketing skillsets and success blueprints to instigate and deliver the transformation, including thought leadership, channel development, social community development, market development and proposition development/message mapping.

In later blogs we’ll explore each of the degrees and characteristics in more detail, together with exercises around some of the successful technology and digital brands that have navigated the 3 Degrees of Disruption.